Chironji Nut

About the size and color of lentils, chironji nuts are the small seeds of a tree (Buchana-nia latifolia) grown for its timber and other economic purposes. Colonel Heber Drury, writing in the late nineteenth century, says the “natives” prized them as a substitute for almonds. Nowadays, it would be quite the opposite. Parsis use charoli in sweets, embedded in the top of cakes and biscuits, or as a garnish for milky puddings. Should you not be able to find them at an Indian grocery, use chopped pistachios or almonds. Charoli is both scarce and expensive; store it in the freezer to keep it sweet.